Lovingkindness

I think I need some work. Of course, we all do. If our work on earth were done, God would be calling us home. I have been thinking about our friends and family this week who have adopted or had trouble getting pregnant. I absolutely love seeing pictures of their kids growing and changing and surpassing milestones. It just amazes me how much kids change in such a short period of time. Disclaimer: I really love these kids and praise God for answers to so many prayers over the years and mean no disrespect to any friends of family in the following statements. They are simply observations (and maybe a little soap box) and make me wonder about how my life used to be. When I see pictures of these sweet kids I just wonder what my life was like with only one kid. Did I take a thousand pictures and upload them all to Facebook? Did I change her outfit 4 times/day just so she would wear all of the clothes we had at least once? Were we too uptight because we didn't give her any sugar until her first birthday? Are we crazy to not indulge our children just because they want something? Even though I am a nurse and worked in a pediatrician's office before my kids were born, does not mean I know everything about kids and how to take care of them. Are they portable? Yes! So why not take them with you on whatever trip/outing you go on. Some of our friends and family took their child to the zoo at least once to the zoo before they were 6 months old. Others have taken pictures with a sign and a specific animal monthly to document how much they have grown. Still others deck out car seats with toys and strap covers that don't allow the parents to properly place the chest clip on the chest where it belongs. Soap box moment: Our new car seat actually tells you where to place the chest clip on the child. Please read and follow directions-it's not difficult. Children, especially babies, are not supposed to wear coats while strapped in their car seat. The belts aren't tight enough to hold them in the car seat and often sit off their shoulders just in case you are in an accident. Also, by adding things like said strap covers or headrest to a car seat that didn't come with the car seat, you are voiding the car seat's warranty. They will not honor it if anything happens to the car seat or your child if the car seat is not used as it came from the manufacturer or as instructed in the owners manual. Now on with it.. I need to be more thankful for my kids. I didn't struggle to get pregnant. I haven't had a miscarriage, or pregnancy complications. We have had several friends who have been unable to have children or who have struggled with infertility treatments and/or miscarriages. Many of them have adopted or were eventually able to have kids of their own in the past year or so and now are doting on their wonderful children God has provided. They have prayed for them for so long and once they found out about the child God would give them, they began praying for the kind of person they would be. Each one has been blessed beyond measure with multiple baby showers, and lots of love and support from friends and family who have been praying with them. I keep wondering how they have that kind of time on their hands and if I wasted mine because I don't remember taking a 100 pictures a week, and I certainly didn't get multiple showers with lots of gifts. I don't remember holding her all the time, or watching her sleep. Our friends and family are taking in their kids and enjoying every second they have with them. I don't think I have had that kind of appreciation for my kids because I didn't struggle on that end. We are very thankful to have healthy kids and hope that they remain healthy. I don't know how I would view life and what kind of thanks I would give if we had a child get diagnosed with cancer, or if one of them got pneumonia or meningitis. To date I haven't been fully acknowledging God for just how much we have been blessed with. I guess it's really easy to forget that God doesn't promise us tomorrow. I just hope that the more I get to see these precious children that God has blessed each one of us with that I will continue to give thanks for each moment I have with each of my kids. Maybe that will spur me on to make the most of the time I have with them because I may not have a lifetime to give them all I want to say or teach to them. May God give each of us a heart of thankfulness that we will recognize each gift He gives and that we would want to love and obey him in return for the love and kindness he shows to us each day.